Data mining in a digital map database to identify curves along downhill roads and enabling precautionary actions in a vehicle

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a feature for a vehicle that enables taking precautionary actions in response to conditions on the road network around or ahead of the vehicle, in particular, a curve along a downhill road segment. A database that represents the road network is used to determine locations where a curve is located along a downhill road segment. Then, precautionary action data is added to the database to indicate such a location. A precautionary action system installed in a vehicle uses this database, or a database derived therefrom, in combination with a positioning system to determine when the vehicle is at such a location, at which a precautionary action is taken by a vehicle system.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present patent application is related to the copending patentapplication Ser. No. 12/156,264, filed on the same date, entitled “DATAMINING TO IDENTIFY LOCATIONS OF POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FORVEHICLE OPERATION AND USE THEREOF,” the entire disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system that enables takinga precautionary action in a vehicle, such as providing a warning to avehicle driver about a potentially difficult or hazardous drivingcondition on the road network.

Advanced driver assistance systems (“ADAS”), including active safety andfuel economy systems, have been developed to improve the comfort,efficiency, safety, and overall satisfaction of driving. Examples ofthese advanced driver assistance systems include adaptive headlightaiming, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and control,curve warning, speed limit notification, hazard warning, predictivecruise control, and adaptive shift control, as well as others. Some ofthese advanced driver assistance systems use a variety of sensormechanisms in the vehicle to determine the current state of the vehicleand the current state of the roadway in front of the vehicle. Thesesensor mechanisms may include radar, infrared, ultrasonic andvision-oriented sensors, such as digital video cameras and lidar. Someadvanced driver assistance systems also use digital map data. Digitalmap data can be used in advanced driver assistance systems to provideinformation about the road network, road geometry, road conditions andother items associated with the road and terrain around the vehicle.Digital map data is not affected by environmental conditions, such asfog, rain or snow. In addition, digital map data can provide usefulinformation that cannot reliably be provided by cameras or radar, suchas curvature, grade, bank, speed limits that are not indicated bysignage, traffic and lane restrictions, etc. Further, digital map datacan provide a predictive capability well beyond the range of othersensors or even beyond the driver's vision to determine the road aheadof the vehicle, around corners, over hills or beyond obstructions.Accordingly, digital map data can be a useful addition for some advanceddriver assistance systems.

Although these kinds of systems provide useful features, there existsroom for further improvements. For example, it would be useful toidentify locations on the road network where a relatively high number oftraffic accidents have occurred. However, statistics pertaining toaccidents are maintained by various different administrative entitiesthat use different formats, standards, reporting methods, reportingperiods, etc. Accordingly, it is difficult to obtain consistentinformation about traffic accidents on roads in a large geographicregion, such as the entire United States or Europe. Moreover, dataindicating locations where a statistically large number of trafficaccidents occur may not indicate the causes of the accidents or howaccidents can be avoided.

Accordingly, it is an objective to provide a system that facilitatestaking a precautionary action in a vehicle, such as providing a warningto a vehicle operator, when approaching a location where accidents mayoccur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To address these and other objectives, the present invention comprises afeature that enables taking a precautionary action in a vehicle as thevehicle approaches the location of a curve located along a downhillportion of a road. The precautionary action may be a warning messageprovided to the vehicle driver to alert the vehicle driver about thecurve located along a downhill portion of a road so that the vehicledriver can pay extra attention. Alternatively, the precautionary actionmay be an actual modification of the operation or control of thevehicle, such as braking, accelerating, or maneuvering the vehicle, oractivating a sensor. Alternatively, the precautionary action may beproviding an input to an algorithm that also processes inputs from othersensors for taking such actions. In another alternative, theprecautionary action may include a combination of any of theseaforementioned actions.

According to another aspect, a database that represents the road networkis used to determine locations where there are curves located alongdownhill portions of roads. Then, precautionary action data is added tothe database to indicate each location at which a precautionary actionis to be provided about a curve located along a downhill portion of aroad.

According to further aspects, a precautionary action system installed ina vehicle uses this database, or a database derived therefrom, incombination with a positioning system, to determine when the vehicle isat a location that corresponds to the location where a precautionaryaction should be taken. When the vehicle is at such a location, theprecautionary action is taken, such as providing a warning to thevehicle operator, as the vehicle is approaching a curve located along adownhill portion of a road. Alternatively, the precautionary action mayconsist of an actual modification of the operation or control of thevehicle, such as braking, accelerating, or maneuvering the vehicle, oractivating a sensor. Alternatively, the precautionary action may includeproviding an input to an algorithm that also processes inputs from othersensors for taking such actions. Alternatively, the precautionary actionmay be an adjustment of sensitivities of other ADAS applications such asincreasing the control authority and sensitivity of a lane departurewarning or control system to lane edge approach and violation. Inanother alternative, the precautionary action may include a combinationof any of these aforementioned actions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a portion of a road network with a curvelocated along a downhill portion of a road.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process that uses a database that representsa road network to identify conditions such as the one shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a data record formed by the process of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a vehicle system that uses data produced by theprocess of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process performed by the system of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERREDEMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A depicts a road segment 10. The road segment 10 is located alonga hill 14. Located along the road segment 10 are several curvedsections, 16, 18 and 20.

FIG. 1B is an illustration of how the road segment 10 in FIG. 1A isrepresented by data contained in a map database (such as the database110 in FIG. 2). Each road segment is represented by a data record thatdefines a line that extends between two endpoints, or nodes. Eachendpoint may correspond to the location of an intersection where theroad segment connects to another road segment, or an endpoint maycorrespond to a location where the road segment dead ends. The locationof the road segment is defined by the data indicating the locations(e.g., geographic coordinates, including altitude) of the nodes. Asshown in FIG. 1B, the road segment 10 is represented by a line 28between node 30 and node 32.

The data record that represents each road segment includes data thatindicates the shape of the road segment. One way to represent the shapeof the road segment is to define shape points along the road segment.Shape points indicate the geographic coordinates at points along theroad segment between the nodes. In the case of a straight road segment,no shape points are required. However, in the case of a curved roadsegment, one or more shape points are used to define locations along theroad segment. FIG. 1B shows several shape points, 34, 36, 38 . . . 68,defined along the road segment between the endpoints, i.e., nodes 30 and32. Thus, the curved road segment 10 in FIG. 1A is represented by anapproximation 28 comprised of a series of short, straight lines as shownin FIG. 1B. (Alternatively, a database may represent a curved roadsegment by a curved line, such as a spline, clothoid, etc. In thisalternative, data that defines the curved line is included in thedatabase.)

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process 100. The process 100 is performed bya software program or routine that is run on a suitable computingplatform, such as a database server, PC or plurality of PCs coupledtogether for parallel computing applications.

The process 100 uses a database 110 that contains data that representsthe road network in a region. The region may be a country, such as theUnited States, Germany, France or Korea. Alternatively, the region mayinclude several countries or an entire continent. According to anotheralternative, the region may include only a portion of a country, such asa state or several states or metropolitan areas.

The process 100 is performed by a map developer, such as NAVTEQCorporation. Alternatively, the process 100 may be performed by anotherentity that has access to an editable version of a map database 110. Forexample, the process may be performed by a customer or licensee ofNAVTEQ, such as a manufacturer of navigation systems or active safetysystems, or by a traffic information services company or by a governmentoffice at any level.

The database 110 is in a format that can be edited. That is, new orupdated information can be added to the database 110. Alternatively, thedatabase 110 is in a format such that new information can be combinedwith the original data to form a new database that includes both theoriginal data and new data. In one embodiment, the database is in anOracle spatial format. Alternatively, the database may be in deliveryformat, such as GDF (Geographic Data File), SIF (Standard InterchangeFormat), or other formats, including proprietary formats.

As stated above, the database 110 contains data that represents the roadnetwork in the region. The database 110 contains information such as thelocations (geographic coordinates, including altitude) of roads andintersections, road names, the three-dimensional shape of the roadsincluding curvature, slope and bank, speed limits along roads, turnrestrictions at intersections, addresses or address ranges along roads,the number of lanes each road has, lane width, lane markings, functionalclasses of roads, the locations of medians, and so on. The database mayalso contain information about other geographic features, such as bodiesof water, parks, administrative areas (including municipal, state andcountry boundaries), and locations of points of interest, such asbusinesses, hospitals, police stations, and so on.

In FIG. 2, the process 100 examines each data record that represents aroad segment (also referred to herein as a “link”) to determine whetherit represents one similar to the road segment 10 in FIG. 1A. (Theprocess 100 may use a procedure that examines in turn each data recordthat represents each road segment represented in the entire database.)In one step, a data record that represents a link or road segment isread from the database 110 (Step 130). This road segment record includesdata attributes that indicate the altitude at each end (i.e., the nodes)of the represented road segment. The altitudes at the ends of therepresented road segment are compared (Step 134). From the comparison ofaltitude information, it can be determined whether the represented roadsegment is part of a hill, where the definition of what altitude changeis sufficient to identify it as a hill is a threshold value set in theprocess. Alternatively, the process 100 may evaluate slope or gradeinformation stored in the database instead of a change in altitude. Inthis case the definition of what slope or grade is sufficient toidentify it as a hill is a threshold value set in the process. If therepresented road segment is not part of a hill, the process 100 proceedsto a step in which it is determined whether all the road segment recordsin the database have been examined (Steps 136 and 138). If there aremore segment records to examine, the process 100 proceeds to get thenext segment record (Step 130) and continues.

Referring back to Step 136, if the represented road segment is part of ahill, the process 100 proceeds to obtain the data that represent theshape of the road segment, e.g. the shape points (Step 142). The shapepoints are evaluated to determine whether the road segment is curved,where the definition of what curvature value is sufficient to identifyit as a curve is a threshold value set in the process (Step 144).Alternatively, curvature may be stored directly in the database as anequation of a spline, clothoid or other mathematical description. Froman examination of the segment's altitude change, as well as thesegment's shape points, it is determined whether there exists a curvealong a downhill portion of the road segment (similar to the sections,16, 18 or 20 shown in FIG. 1A). If examination of the location of thesegment's altitude information and shape points indicates that there areno curves along a downhill portion, the process 100 proceeds to the stepin which it is determined whether all the road segment records in thedatabase have been examined (Steps 150 and 138) and if there are moresegment records to examine, the process 100 proceeds to get the nextsegment record (Step 130).

Referring back to Step 150, if examination of the location of thesegment's altitude information and shape points indicates that there isa curve along a downhill portion, the process 100 adds precautionaryaction data 160 to the database 110 (Step 156). The precautionary actiondata 160 indicates the presence of a feature in the road network where aprecautionary action may be taken. After the precautionary action data160 is added to the database 110, the process 100 proceeds to the stepin which it is determined whether all the road segment records in thedatabase have been examined (Step 138) and if there are more segmentrecords to examine, the process 100 proceeds to get the next segmentrecord (Step 130).

The process 100 ends when it is determined whether all the road segmentrecords have been examined (Step 138).

It is noted that the process 100, above, performs a data miningfunction. The existence of the potentially difficult location, i.e., acurve on a downhill section of road, is derived from data alreadycollected and present in the database. It is noted that the process 100,above, evaluates multiple data items in the original database, todetermine whether the condition exists, in this case, a curve on adownhill section of road. By evaluating these multiple data items, adetermination is made whether these multiple data items describe thecondition of interest. If these data items do describe the condition, anew data item, i.e., the precautionary action data, is added to thedatabase.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that shows a data record 200 in the database 110.The data record 200 represents a road segment located in a geographicregion. As explained above, the geographic region may include an entirecountry or continent. Accordingly, the database 110 includes many datarecords like the one shown in FIG. 3.

The data record 200 shown in FIG. 3 is exemplary and shows only one wayto represent a road segment. Databases may represent road segments invarious different ways and may include different kinds of information.The present invention is not limited to any particular way ofrepresenting roads.

Referring to FIG. 3, various data are associated with the data record200 that represents a road segment. This various data indicates featuresor attributes of the represented road segment. For example, associatedwith the data record is data that indicates the permitted direction(s)of travel. Also associated with the road segment record 200 are datathat indicate a speed limit, a classification of the road segment (i.e.,the type of road, such as controlled access, etc.), a rank (e.g., 1-4),the endpoints of the road segment, shape points (i.e., locations alongthe road segment between its endpoints). Also associated with the roadsegment records is data that indicate the successors at each endpoint.Successors are those road segments that connect to the represented roadsegment at each of its endpoints. The segment record 200 may identifythese successors by reference to the data records that represent thesuccessors.

In FIG. 3, the database 110 also includes precautionary action data 160.The precautionary action data 160 is the data added to the database 110by the process 100 in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the precautionary action data160 is shown as added to the road segment record 200. It should beunderstood that the process 100 adds precautionary action data 160 withrespect to only certain records, i.e., records that represent thoseroads segments that meet the conditions identified by the process.Accordingly, the database 110 will contain data records that representroad segments that contain the precautionary action data 160 and otherdata records that represent road segments that do not contain theprecautionary action data 160.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the precautionary action data 160 isassociated with the road segment identified as including a curve on adownhill section of a road. In this embodiment, the precautionary actiondata 160 includes several components. One component 160(1) indicates acondition type. This condition type 160(1) indicates the type ofcondition about which a precautionary action is to be taken, which inthis case is a curve on a downhill section of a road. This conditiontype 160(1) component is used when different conditions are identifiedin the database 110 about which precautionary action may be taken.

Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is theprecautionary action location 160(2). The precautionary action location160(2) indicates where along the represented road segment aprecautionary action may be taken. The precautionary action location160(2) data may include multiple entries. For example, the precautionaryaction location 160(2) may indicate where a warning may be provided to avehicle driver to advise the driver about the upcoming condition, i.e.,the curve on a downhill section of road. In the case of a curve on adownhill section of a road, the warning location 160(2) may indicate adistance (e.g., x meters) from the curve on the downhill section of theroad. The location 160(2) is determined based on an analysis of factors,such as the slope of the hill, the speed limit along the representedroad segment, the road classification, and possibly other factors. Thesefactors may be determined from other data contained in the database 110.According to one example, the location 160(2) may indicate that awarning should be provided at a location 400 meters along the roadsegment from the curve on the downhill section of a road.

The precautionary action location 160(2) may also indicate where avehicle control action should be taken, such as tightening theseatbelts, pre-loading or engaging the brakes, tightening sensitivitiesof lane departure warning systems or stability control systems, etc.This may be a different location from where the precautionary warning isprovided and would be based on a different analysis of factors.

Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is direction data160(3). The direction data 160(3) indicates the direction along therepresented road segment where the precautionary action should be taken.In this case, the direction data 160(3) indicates the downhilldirection. (Note that the database 110 may indicate a direction along aroad segment as positive or negative based on the relative latitude andlongitude of the road segment endpoints. Accordingly, the downhilldirection may be indicated as positive or negative.)

Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is a reference160(4). In this case, the reference 160(4) indicates the location of thecurve on the downhill section of a road. The reference 160(4) refers tothe first shape point that represents the curve on the downhill sectionof the road.

The precautionary action data 160 described in FIG. 3 is one way thatthis data may be included in a database that represents a geographicregion. There are alternative ways to include the precautionary actiondata. For example, the precautionary action data may be included asseparate data records in the database 110. If included as separate datarecords, the precautionary action data may be associated with the roadsegments to which they apply by pointers or other suitable datareferences. Alternatively, the precautionary action data may beassociated with node data records. Various other ways exist and thepresent invention is not intended to be restricted to any specificimplementation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram depicting components of a vehicle 300. The vehicle300 is operated on a road network, such as the road network representedby the database 110 in FIG. 2. The vehicle 300 may be an automobile,truck, bicycle, motorcycle, etc.

The vehicle 300 includes systems 310. In this embodiment, the vehiclesystems 310 include a positioning system 320. The positioning system 320determines the position of the vehicle 300 on the road network. Thepositioning system 320 includes appropriate hardware and software todetermine the position of the vehicle 300. For example, the positioningsystem may include hardware 322 that includes a GPS unit, anaccelerometer, wheel speed sensors, etc. The positioning system 320 alsoincludes a positioning application 324. The positioning application 324is a software application that uses outputs from the positioning systemhardware 322 and information from a map database 330. The positioningapplication 324 determines the position of the vehicle 300 with respectto the road network, including the location of the vehicle 300 along aroad segment and a direction of travel of the vehicle along the roadsegment.

In one embodiment, the map database 330 is located in the vehicle. In analternative embodiment, the map database 330 may be located remotely andaccessed by the vehicle systems 310 using a wireless communicationsystem. In yet another embodiment, part of the map database 330 may belocated locally in the vehicle and part of the map database 330 may belocated remotely.

The map database 330 is stored on a computer readable medium 334. Thecomputer-readable medium may be implemented using any suitabletechnology. For example, the computer readable medium may be a DVD disk,a CD-ROM disk, a hard disk, flash memory, or any other medium, or aplurality of media.

The map database 330 includes data that represents the geographic regionin which the vehicle 300 is being operated. The map database 330 mayrepresent the same geographic region as the database 110 in FIG. 2, oralternatively, the map database 330 may represent only a portion of theregion represented by the database 110.

The map database 330 used by the vehicle systems 310 may be in adifferent format from the database 110 in FIG. 2. The map database 330is formed or derived from the database 110 by a compilation process thatorganizes and presents the data in a form and format that specificallyfacilitates its use for performing specific functions. For example, themap database 330 may be separated into different collections of datathat are used for specific functions, such as vehicle positioning, routecalculation, map display, route guidance, destination selection, and soon. The map database 330 may also be organized into groupings spatially.One kind of compiled database format is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,968,109, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein. Various other compiled database formats exist, includingproprietary formats, and the disclosed embodiment(s) are not limited toany particular format.

Included among the vehicle systems 310 in FIG. 4 is a navigation system340. The navigation system 340 uses outputs from the positioning system320 and data from the map database 330 to provide navigation-relatedfeatures to a vehicle user, e.g., the vehicle operator or passenger. Thenavigation system 340 includes applications for route calculation 344,map display 346, as well as possibly other applications. The navigationsystem 340 provides the navigation-related features to the vehicle uservia a user interface 354. (The navigation system 340 is optional and maybe omitted.)

Also included among the vehicle systems 310 is a precautionary actionapplication 350. The precautionary action application 350 uses outputsfrom the positioning system 320 and data from the map database 330 totake precautionary actions, such as provide warnings to the vehicleoperator. The precautionary action application 350 provides the warningto the vehicle operator via the user interface 354.

FIG. 4 also shows that precautionary action application 350 provides anoutput to vehicle control systems and actuator 356. The vehicle controlsystems and actuator are operatively connected to various vehiclemechanical systems, such as the vehicle's brakes 356(1), engine 356(2),seatbelts (including tensioners) 356(3), airbags 356(4), stabilitycontrol algorithms, as well as other system systems 356(5).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart 400 showing operation of the precautionary actionapplication 350 (in FIG. 4). As the vehicle 300 (in FIG. 4) is beingoperated on a road, the precautionary action application 350 obtains thecurrent vehicle position from the positioning system 320 (Step 410).(During vehicle operation, the positioning system 320 continuouslydetermines the current geographic position of the vehicle 300 as thevehicle is being operated using data from the map database 330.) Thepositioning system 320 provides the precautionary action applicationwith data that indicates the current vehicle position with respect tothe road network as represented by the map database 330. Specifically,the location of the vehicle along a road segment and the direction oftravel of the vehicle along the road segment are determined and providedto the precautionary action application 350.

Next, the process 400 obtains data from the map database 300 thatrepresents the geographic features (i.e., roads, intersections, etc.) atthe current location of the vehicle and in the direction in which thevehicle is heading (Step 420). In one embodiment, an electronic horizonis used (Step 430). Building an electronic horizon and using it toprovide warnings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,405,128 and 6,735,515and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/400,151, the entire disclosuresof which are incorporated by reference herein. Using an electronichorizon and/or the inventions disclosed in these patents and pendingpatent application is optional and the disclosed process 400 is notlimited to using the electronic horizon technology.

After obtaining data from the map database 300 that represents thegeographic features at the current location of the vehicle and in thedirection in which the vehicle is heading, the process 400 includes thestep of examining the data to determine whether any precautionary actiondata (160 in FIG. 3) is associated with the represented geographicfeatures (Step 440). If there is no precautionary action data associatedwith the represented geographic features, the process 400 loops back toget a new current vehicle position (Step 410). On the other hand, ifthere is precautionary action data associated with the representedgeographic features, the process 400 takes a precautionary action (Step450). The precautionary action may be a warning provided to the vehicleoperator when the vehicle is at the location (i.e., 160(2) in FIG. 3)indicated by the precautionary action data. The warning may be providedvia the user interface 354. The warning may be an audible warningmessage or a visual warning.

The precautionary action is not limited to warnings, but may alsoinclude other actions. For example, in the case of a curve on a downhillsection of a road, vehicle systems 356, such as the brakes, engine ortransmission, can be readied for a deceleration. In addition, theseatbelts may be tightened or the airbags set to deploy. As explainedabove, to facilitate these kinds of actions, additional information maybe added to the warning data 160 (in FIG. 3) to indicate the type ofaction as well as the location where the action should be taken.

Referring still to FIG. 5, after taking the precautionary action, theprocess 400 loops back to get a new current vehicle position (Step 410).

Alternative with Dynamic Data

The process (400 in FIG. 5) was described as a way to use theprecautionary action data that had been stored in the map database totake an appropriate action in a vehicle when the vehicle is at or isapproaching a location identified as having a potentially hazardouscondition. This process uses a positioning system and map database inthe vehicle to determine when the vehicle is at or is approaching such alocation. The process may also take into account dynamic information.Dynamic information may include current traffic and weather conditions,ambient light conditions, road conditions (e.g., ice), and so on. Thevehicle may include systems to obtain such information. For example, thevehicle may have a traffic data receiver that obtains real-time trafficinformation, e.g., RDS-TMC messages. The process 400 may use the dynamicinformation in combination with the precautionary action data. Forexample, the process may modify the location at which a warning isprovided. As an example, if weather conditions indicate that it israining, the location at which a warning is provided to the vehicledriver about a curve on a downhill section of a road may be modified,i.e., adjusted to a point farther in advance of the location of thehazardous condition, in order to give the vehicle operator additionaltime or distance. The process may even take certain actions only undercertain conditions. For example, a warning about a curve on a downhillsection of a road may be provided only during nighttime hours or duringinclement weather conditions.

Verification

The process (100 in FIG. 2) was described as a way to automaticallyexamine records in a database that represents roads to identifylocations or conditions along the road network where a precautionaryaction might be taken. According to the described process, data is thenadded to indicate the location where the precautionary action should betaken. Alternatively, instead of automatically adding the precautionaryaction data to the database, the locations where such conditions areidentified could be marked on a temporary basis. Then, a geographicanalyst (or other human operator) could review some or all suchtemporarily marked locations. The analyst may conduct this review byphysically traveling to the locations or by reviewing satellite oraerial photographs of the locations, or video taken while driving by thelocations (previously or subsequently acquired either by the analyst orothers including members of the public). Based on the review, theanalyst then determines whether precautionary action data should beadded to the database.

It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded asillustrative rather than limiting and that it is understood that thefollowing claims including all equivalents are intended to define thescope of the invention.

1. A method for making a component configured for a vehicle system thatprovides a precautionary action in a vehicle when the vehicle approachesa potentially hazardous location, wherein the component comprises anaugmented version of a database that represents a road network in ageographic region, the method comprising: with a computer configured tooperate under programming instructions, evaluating, prior to the vehiclesystem having been provided with the component comprising the augmentedversion of the database, data contained in a first version of thedatabase to identify road sections located throughout the geographicregion that have a combination of a first condition and a secondcondition that exist together at a same location wherein the firstcondition comprises a curve and wherein the second condition comprises adownhill section; and with the computer configured to operate underprogramming instructions, upon determining existence of the secondcondition at the location of the first condition adding precautionaryaction data to form the augmented version of the database to indicate acondition for which a precautionary action is to be taken by a vehiclesystem.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: selecting from thefirst version of the database a data record that represents a roadsegment; upon determining that the road segment is downhill, obtainingdata that represent curvature along sections of the road segment; andupon determining that the road segment is downhill and includes a curve,adding the precautionary action data to the first version of thedatabase to indicate the presence of a condition for which aprecautionary action is to be taken.
 3. The method of claim 2 furtherwherein the road segment is determined to be curved by evaluating shapepoint data associated with the road segment.
 4. The method of claim 2further comprising: continuing to select from the first version of thedatabase data records that represent road segments to identify alllocations of downhill roads throughout the geographic region thatinclude curved sections.
 5. The method of claim 2 further comprising:continuing to select from the first version of the database data recordsthat represent road segments until all data records that represent roadsegments have been selected.
 6. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: compiling the augmented version of the database into aformat suitable for use in a navigation system.
 7. The method of claim 1wherein the step of evaluating data contained in the first version ofthe database comprises evaluating at least two items of data containedin the first version of the database to determine whether a downhillroad has a curved section.
 8. A database stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, and operable as a component in a vehiclesystem that provides a precautionary action in a vehicle when thevehicle approaches a potentially hazardous location, wherein thedatabase includes data that represents a road network in a geographicregion, wherein the database comprises: data records configured torepresent road segments that make up the road network; data configuredto indicate altitudes of the road segments; and data configured, priorto installation in the vehicle system, to indicate precautionary actionlocations, wherein a precautionary action location is associated with alocation at which a curve is located on a downhill section of the road.9. The database of claim 8 wherein the precautionary action data furtherincludes data that indicates a location along a road segment at which aprecautionary action is to be taken by a vehicle system.
 10. Thedatabase of claim 8 wherein the precautionary action data furtherincludes data that indicates a direction along a road segment at which aprecautionary action is to be taken.
 11. The database of claim 8 whereinthe precautionary action data further includes data that refers to thelocation of the actual curve along a downhill section of the road. 12.The database of claim 8 further comprising data that indicates permitteddirections of travel along road segments, speed limits along roadsegments, classifications of road segments, and locations of roadsegments.
 13. The database of claim 8 further comprising data thatidentifies speed limits road segments.
 14. A vehicle system comprising:a database, configured prior to installation in the vehicle system tocontain data representing a geographic region in which a vehicle isbeing operated, wherein the data includes data that represents a roadnetwork located in the geographic region and precautionary action datathat indicates precautionary action locations associated with locationswhere a curve is located on a downhill section of a road segment; apositioning system configured to determine a current location of thevehicle relative to the data in the database representing a geographicregion; and a precautionary action application executed on a processorand responsive to the positioning system and the database wherein theprecautionary action application is configured to provide aprecautionary action when the positioning system determines that thecurrent location of the vehicle is a precautionary action locationassociated with precautionary action data.
 15. The system of claim 14wherein the precautionary action data further includes data thatindicates a location along a road segment at which a precautionaryaction is to be taken by a vehicle system.
 16. The system of claim 14wherein the precautionary action data further includes data thatindicates a direction along a road segment at which a precautionaryaction is to be taken.
 17. The system of claim 14 wherein theprecautionary action data further includes data that refers to thelocation of the actual location of the curve along the downhill sectionof the road.
 18. A method performed with a program executed on aprocessor configured to provide precautionary actions in a vehiclecomprising: accessing, by the processor, a database configured prior toinstallation in the vehicle to represent a road network, wherein thedatabase includes data that indicates potentially hazardous locations atwhich a precautionary action is to be taken, wherein said potentiallyhazardous locations comprise locations at which a combination ofconditions exist, wherein a first of said combination of conditionscomprises a curved road section and a second of said combination ofconditions comprises a downhill road section; determining, by theprocessor, a current position of the vehicle relative to the roadnetwork represented by the database; and upon determining that datarepresentations of a part of the road network ahead of the currentposition of the vehicle includes precautionary action data, taking, bythe processor, a precautionary action.
 19. The method of claim 18further comprising: building an electronic horizon after accessing thedatabase; and using the electronic horizon to determine whetherprecautionary action data is included therein.
 20. The method of claim18 wherein the precautionary action is provided via a user interface ofthe vehicle.